1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image generation method and apparatus. More particularly, the invention relates to an interactive image generation method and apparatus in which a computer interprets geometrical graphic data relating to fonts, plane figures, stereoscopic shapes and the like, attribute data relating to colors, patterns and the like, and scene description data, such as data relating to illumination, data relating to projection, and the like, and in which respective scene data are changed in accordance with interactive operation instructions of the operator, new images are calculated and generated with a short time interval of at least a few frames per second, and the displayed picture surface is sequentially updated.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional interactive image generation apparatuses, when the operator selects a figure whose position, posture and other attributes are to be changed, from among a plurality of figures defined in a three-dimensional virtual space and displayed on the picture surface of a display device, the operator designates the figure by manually operating a mouse or any other three-dimensional input device, and moving a three-dimensional index displayed in the space where the figure is defined to the position of the target figure.
At that time, in the above-described conventional method, since there is a deviation between the amount and the direction of movement when the operator manually operates an input device in an actual three-dimensional space, and the operator""s visual spatial sense of the amount and the direction of movement of the three-dimensional index in the virtual space displayed on the picture surface, the operation of designating the target figure is generally performed by trial and error.
Furthermore, since it is difficult to recognize the spatial relationship between the target figure and the three-dimensional index in the virtual space, the operation of designating the target figure is generally performed by trial and error.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an interactive image generation apparatus in which, when the operator selects a figure whose position, posture and other attributes are to be changed, from among a plurality of figures defined in a three-dimensional virtual space and displayed on the picture surface of a display device, the figure to be selected can be designated by the direction of the operator""s line of sight. Hence, a prompt figure selection operation can be performed by a direct action of looking at the figure to be selected without requiring an indirect manual instruction operation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an interactive image generation method and apparatus having excellent operability when the operator selects a figure whose position, posture and other attributes are to be changed, from among a plurality of figures defined in a three-dimensional virtual space and displayed on the picture surface of a display device.
According to one aspect, the present invention which achieves these objectives relates to an image generation method comprising the steps of obtaining the position of a visual point of an operator, identifying a direction or line of sight along which the operator is looking, identifying a displayed figure intersected by that direction or line of sight, calculating the coordinates of a point where that direction intersects the displayed figure, registering the position obtained in the calculating step as an operating point, performing transformation for information relating to respective coordinates of the displayed figure identified in the object identifying step and the operating point registered in the registering step making the operating point an origin for coordinate transformation, generating an image of a figure based on the information transformed in the transformation step making the position of the visual point obtained in the measuring step an origin for projection, and displaying the image generated in the generating step.
According to another aspect, the present invention which achieves these objectives relates to an image generation apparatus comprising visual-point-position measuring means for obtaining the position of a visual point of an operator, visual-point-direction measuring means for identifying a direction or a line of sight along which the operator is looking, object determination means for identifying a displayed figure crossed by that direction or line of sight, position determination means for calculating the coordinates of a point where the direction or line of sight intersects the displayed figure, operating-point registration means for registering the position obtained by the position determination means, figure-coordinate tranformation means for performing transformation for information relating to respective coordinates of the displayed figure determined by the object determination means, and the operating point registered by the operating-point registration means, making the operating point an origin for coordinate transformation, image generation means for generating an image of a figure based on the information transformed by the figure-coordinate transformation means making the position of the visual point obtained by the visual-point-position measuring means an origin for projection, and display means for displaying the image generated by the image generation means.
According to the above-described configuration, when the operator selects a figure whose position, posture and other attribute are to be changed, from among a plurality of figures displayed on the picture surface of a display device, the figure to be selected can be designated by means of the direction of the operator""s line of sight.
The foregoing and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the acompanying drawings.